Pixar's latest blockbuster, Cars (Disney), runs too long and relies too much on clunky visual gags and forced sentiment, but it looks fantastic, and it contains so many visually thrilling sequences—both during the races and in the neon-lit small town where most of the action takes place—that it's hard to imagine not wanting to return to it again and again. Besides, at this point, isn't buying the DVD part of the whole Pixar experience?…
Since debuting this past summer, Little Man (Sony) has plummeted to #29 on the Internet Movie Database's fan-voted "Bottom 100" list. How low will it go now that bad-movie enthusiasts too cheap to go see the Shawn-Wayans-mistakes-midget-criminal-Marlon-Wayans-for-a-baby comedy in theaters only have to shell out for a DVD rental? The future looks bottomless…
Fans of HBO's The Sopranos got used to waiting for a year or more between seasons, because for years, it felt like each one had been planned and labored over for every hour of every day during those hiatuses. But The Sopranos: Season Six, Part 1 (HBO), now available on DVD, introduces a few chinks in the armor, only some of which can be blamed on the frustrating open-endedness of a partial season. Maybe part two will fill in the blanks, but after Drea de Matteo's Adriana was iced the season before, the show lost some of its soul…
Crossword fanaticism may not seem like the most compelling documentary subject, but nobody bothered to tell director Patrick Creadon that. Good thing, too, since his Wordplay (IFC)—which talks to creators and famous enthusiasts before climaxing at a surprisingly nail-biting competitive match—is as informative as it is fun. Kind of like a good crossword puzzle, really…
According to NME, the Pixies have plans to record their first album since 1991's Trompe Le Monde, but if loudQuietloud: A Film About The Pixies (Music Video Dist.) is any indication, fans probably shouldn't hold their breath. This solid behind-the-scenes look at the band's successful reunion tour finds the members polite but hardly unified, each more interested in solo projects and family matters than in coming together as a creative unit.